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THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 


THE    SCULPTURE 
OF    THE    WEST 


A  Lecture  Delivered  at  the 

Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  New  York, 

December  3,  1921 


BY 
A.  KINGSLEY  PORTER 


PRIVATELY  ISSUED  FOR  THE  AUTHOR  BY 

MARSHALL   JONES    COMPANY 
BOSTON 


COPYRIGHT,  1921,  BY 
A.  KINGSLEY  PORTER 


IN  THE  guide  written  in  the  XII  century  for  the  pil- 
grims to  Compostela  we  read:  "There  are  four  roads 
which  lead  to  St.  James.  These  unite  at  Puente  la 
Reina  in  the  land  of  Spain.  The  first  leads  through  St. 
Gilles  and  Montpellier  and  Toulouse  and  the  Port  d'Aspe ; 
the  second  through  Notre  Dame  of  Le  Puy  and  Ste.  Foy 
of  Conques  and  St.  Pierre  of  Moissac;  the  third  through 
Ste.  Marie  Madeleine  of  Vezelay  and  St.  Leonard  near 
Limoges  and  the  city  of  Perigueux;  the  fourth  through  St. 
Martin  of  Tours  and  St.  Hilaire  of  Poitiers  and  St.  Jean 
d'Angely  and  St.  Eutrope  of  Saintes  and  the  city  of  Bor- 
deaux. The  roads  which  pass  through  Ste.  Foy  and  St. 
Leonard  and  St.  Martin  unite  at  Ostabat,  and  passing  the 
Port  de  Cize  join  at  Puente  la  Reina,  the  road  which  passes 
by  the  Port  d'Aspe.  Thence  one  road  leads  to  St.  James." 
If  time  permitted  it  would  amply  repay  our  pains  to  ex- 
plore all  four  of  the  routes  leading  to  Santiago,  for  we 
should  find  that  they,  together  with  the  other  pilgrimage 
routes  leading  to  Rome  and  to  Jerusalem,  pass  by  nearly 
all  the  creative  centres  of  sculpture  of  the  first  half  of  the 
XII  century.  After  such  a  journey,  we  should  come  to  sus- 
pect that  the  pilgrimage  played  no  less  a  part  in  the  forma- 
tion of  plastic  art  than  M.  Bedier  has  shown  that  it  played 
in  the  chansons  de  geste.  We  should  find  that  the  road 
formed  a  river  of  sculpture,  flowing  through  a  region  other- 
wise nearly  desert  in  southern  France  and  Spain.  We 
should  find  that  artistic  ideas  traveled  back  and  forth  along 
the  road  with  the  greatest  facility,  so  that  monuments  sep- 
arated by  hundreds  of  miles  of  distance  show  the  closest 
stylistic  relationship.  We  should  find  that  the  old  theory 
of  a  school  of  sculpture  at  Toulouse,  and  another  in  Spain 

5 


6  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

must  be  discarded,  and  that  there  was  instead  one  school 
which  was  neither  Toulousan  nor  Spanish,  but  international 
of  the  pilgrimage,  and  that  this  school  centred  at  Santiago 
rather  than  at  Toulouse.  We  should  find  at  Santiago  the 
focal  point,  both  of  the  architecture  and  of  the  sculpture 
of  the  XII  century;  we  should  find  the  type  of  church  origi- 
nally created  in  France  but  consecrated  at  Santiago,  copied 
in  minor  sanctuaries  all  along  the  road,  echoed  at  Acerenza 
in  the  Basilicata,  at  Venosa  in  Apulia,  and  inspiring 
whole  schools  of  architecture  in  Burgundy,  Auvergne  and 
Poitou.  We  should  find  that  the  same  sculptors  who 
worked  upon  the  Puerta  de  las  Platerias  at  Santiago  were 
some  years  later  called  to  Conques  where  they  executed  the 
glorious  portal  of  Ste.  Foy.  We  should  remark  that  the 
jamb  sculptures  of  Santiago,  executed  between  1102  and 
1124  present  analogies  with  those  made  by  Guglielmo  at 
Cremona  between  1107  and  1117,  and  that  both  are  not 
without  points  of  contact  with  the  sculptures  of  Armenia 
which  have  recently  been  made  known  by  Strzygowski. 
We  should  remark  that  the  Christ  of  the  Puerta  de  las 
Platerias,  which  dates  from  before  1124  already  possesses 
the  essential  characteristics  of  the  Gothic  sculpture  of  north- 
ern France  of  a  century  later,  and  that  this  figure,  the  St. 
James  of  the  Portico  de  la  Gloria  and  the  Beau  Dieu  of 
Amiens  form  a  direct  line  of  evolution.  We  should  find 
reason  to  believe  that  the  Portico  de  la  Gloria  occupied  as 
important  a  position  in  the  development  of  art  in  the  XIII 
century,  as  the  Puerta  de  las  Platerias  did  in  that  of  the 
XII;  that  the  sculptures  of  Reims  owe  much  to  this  source, 
and  that  the  Reims  smile  is  inspired  by  the  Daniel  of  San- 
tiago. We  should  find  at  Santo  Domingo  de  Silos  irre- 
futably dated  sculptures  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  XI  cen- 
tury, connecting  on  the  one  hand  with  English  manuscripts 
of  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  and  on  the  other  with  Souillac, 
Moissac,  St.  Guilhem  le  Desert  and  St.  Trophime  of  Aries. 
We  should  find  how  vitally  and  undeniably  right  Professor 
Morey  was  in  pointing  out  the  influence  of  manuscripts  and 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST  7 

especially  English  manuscripts  of  the  school  of  Winchester 
upon  sculpture  of  the  early  XII  century,  and  we  should  find 
the  school  of  Burgundy  seeking  its  inspiration  almost  ex- 
clusively in  this  source. 

All  this  and  much  more  of  the  most  intense  interest  lies 
upon  the  road  of  St.  James.  The  short  hour  at  our  dis- 
posal this  afternoon  is,  however,  obviously  insufficient  for 
the  discussion  of  these  major  problems,  and  we  must  by 
necessity  confine  ourselves  to  a  small  portion  of  the  ques- 
tion of  St.  James.  Let  us  pick  out  for  study  the  fourth  of 
the  roads  leading  to  Compostela,  that  which  passes  through 
St.  Martin  of  Tours  and  St.  Hilaire  of  Poitiers  and  St. 
Jean  d'Angely  and  St.  Eutrope  of  Saintes  and  the  city  of 
Bordeaux.  This  route  is  of  especial  interest  as  it  was  the 
chief  one  leading  from  Paris  and  northern  France.  It  also 
possesses  the  advantage  of  taking  us  past  a  series  of  monu- 
ments which  perhaps  even  yet  have  not  been  appreciated  at 
their  full  worth. 

In  the  West  of  France,  sculpture  developed  later  than  in 
Burgundy,  Lombardy  or  Spain.  The  school  of  the  XI 
century  which  has  left  us  such  astonishing  creations  at  Hilde- 
sheim,  at  Arles-sur-Tech,  at  Regensburg,  at  Santo  Domingo 
de  Silos,  at  Oviedo,  at  Sahagun,  at  Charlieu  and  at  Cluny 
did  not  flourish  on  the  wind-swept  Atlantic  sea-board. 
When,  however,  we  reflect  how  close  this  region  lies  to  the 
He  de  France,  where  sculpture  worthy  of  the  name  did  not 
appear  at  all  until  the  fourth  decade  of  the  XII  century, 
the  wonder  perhaps  is  not  that  the  XI  century  carving  of 
the  west  was  crude,  but  that  figure  sculpture  existed  at  all. 

The  church  of  Airvault,  consecrated  in  uoo,  possesses 
sculptures  addossed  to  the  wall  flanking  the  vaulting  capi- 
tals, some  of  which  are  sculptured  in  the  same  style.  We 
have  here  admittedly  work  of  the  end  of  the  XI  century. 

The  striking  fact  in  regard  to  the  sculptures  of  Airvault, 
aside  from  their  crudity,  is  the  similarity  in  the  folds  of 
certain  draperies  to  those  in  the  south  portal  of  St.  Sernin 
of  Toulouse.  Now  St.  Sernin  of  Toulouse  is  later  than 


8  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

Airvault,  but  it  is  difficult  to  admit  that  the  advanced  school 
of  the  pilgrimage  could  have  been  influenced  by  the  retard- 
ataire  work  in  the  West.  The  explanation  I  believe  is  this: 
The  ateliers  of  Toulouse  and  Santiago  were  closely  inter- 
related, and  we  find  the  same  sculptors  travelling  back  and 
forth  from  one  to  the  other.  Now  while  no  work  anterior 
to  the  XII  century  has  come  down  to  us  at  Santiago,  it  is 
certain  that  an  atelier  of  sculpture  must  have  existed  there 
much  before,  and  probably  from  the  beginning  of  the  recon- 
struction of  the  cathedral  in  1078.  It  is  not  unreasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  work  at  Airvault  may  have  been  in- 
fluenced by  the  XI  century  atelier  of  Santiago. 

The  two  reliefs  of  Ste.  Radegonde  of  Poitiers  are  of  bet- 
ter quality.  One  feels  distinctly  in  them,  although  in 
strangely  weakened  form,  the  inspiration  which  emanated 
from  Cluny.  They  are  degenerates,  but  after  all  of  the 
race  of  the  older  portal  at  Charlieu  or  of  the  Virgin  at 
Sahagun.  These  reliefs  obviously  are  not  now  in  their 
original  position,  but  were  embedded  at  a  comparatively 
recent  epoch  in  the  narthex  below  the  tower.  It  unfortu- 
nately seems  impossible  to  determine  their  provenience. 
Their  style,  however,  justifies  the  conjecture  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  church  built  between  1083  and  1099. 

When  we  turn  from  Ste.  Radegonde  to  the  sculptures  of 
the  lunettes  of  the  cathedral  of  Angouleme,  we  recognize 
between  the  two  a  close  relationship.  There  are  the  same 
draperies  cut  in  the  same  rope-like  forms,  and  falling  in  the 
same  characteristic  wave-patterns  along  the  lower  edges. 
Angouleme  appears  slightly  more  advanced;  the  execution 
is  better,  and  there  is  more  movement.  Seven  or  eight  or 
at  most  ten  years  might  easily  account  for  this  development. 
It  is  therefore  with  considerable  astonishment  that  we  find 
current  archaeological  opinion  ascribes  these  sculptures  to 
the  second  half  of  the  XII  century.  And  when  we  compare 
their  primitive  style  with  that  of  monuments  with  which 
they  are  supposed  to  be  contemporary,  such  as,  for  example, 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST  9 

the  west  portal  of  Chartres  or  the  transept  portals  of 
Bourges,  our  astonishment  deepens  into  amazement. 

We  naturally  turn  with  haste  to  the  reasoning  on  which 
this  dating  is  based.  We  are  told,  first  of  all,  what  alas  is 
only  too  true,  that  the  cathedral  of  Angouleme  lost  all  char- 
acter in  the  XIX  century  restoration.  To  study  its  arch- 
aeology we  are  therefore  advised  to  go  not  to  the  building 
itself,  but  to  the  manuscript  study  of  Michon  who  saw  the 
church  before  it  was  reconstructed.  Now  Michon  thought 
that  the  western  bay  was  earlier  than  the  rest  of  the  church ; 
that  is  a  triumphant  proof  that  it  and  the  facade  are  a  half 
century  later! 

But  the  heavy  artillery  of  this  archaeological  demonstra- 
tion has  not  yet  been  brought  into  play.  The  lunette  sculp- 
tures of  Angouleme,  we  are  told,  are  by  the  same  hand 
(sic)  as  the  sculptures  of  St.  Amand  de  Boixe.  These  last 
are  thought  to  be  dated  1 170. 

Now  it  is  true  that  St.  Amand  de  Boixe  was  consecrated 
in  1170;  but  there  was  an  earlier  consecration  in  1125. 
The  monument  as  it  stands  corresponds  perfectly  with  the 
documents.  Begun  at  the  eastern  end,  as  was  the  custom 
(the  choir  was  rebuilt  in  the  XIV  century),  the  transepts 
with  the  sculptures  and  the  east  bay  of  the  nave  were  fin- 
ished in  1125.  Then  works  were  interrupted,  apparently 
for  a  number  of  years.  Subsequently  the  construction  of  the 
nave  was  resumed  and  completed  in  1170.  Nothing  could 
be  clearer. 

Since,  however,  the  fact  that  the  western  part  of  the  nave 
is  later  entirely  escaped  the  attention  of  the  author  of  the 
article  in  the  Congres  Archeologique,  it  will  be  well  to  note 
down  some  of  the  proofs  that  such  is  the  case : 

1 i )  The  capitals  of  the  nave,  broad-leaved  and  crock- 
eted,  are  of  a  strikingly  different,  and  obviously  later  type 
from  those  of  the  transepts.    They  must  be  separated  by  an 
interval  of  at  least  twenty-five  years. 

(2)  There  is  an  equally  striking  difference  of  style  be- 
tween the  west  portal  (that  is  to  say  the  little  of  it  that  is 


io  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

ancient)  and  the  decoration  of  the  west  facade  of  the  north 
transept. 

(3)  The  design  of  the  church  was  completely  changed 
when  work  was  resumed  after  it  had  been  interrupted  at  the 
east  bay  of  the  nave. 

(4)  The  groin  vaults  of  the  side  aisles  in  the  east  bay 
of  the  nave  are  replaced  by  barrel  vaults  in  the  western 
bays. 

( 5 )  The  ornamental  frieze  on  the  north  exterior  wall, 
begun  in  the  east  bay,  is  discontinued  in  the  western  bays. 

(6)  The  side  aisle  window  in  the  east  bay  is  placed 
higher  than  in  the  western  bays. 

(7)  The  string-course  of  the  abacus  of  this  window  is 
brusquely  interrupted  where  the  two  constructions  adjoin. 

(8)  In  the  barrel  vault  of  the  nave  is  visible  a  break  in 
the  masonry  between  the  easternmost  and  western  bays  of 
the  nave. 

(9)  This  break  continues  in  the  masonry  of  the  eastern- 
most piers  of  the  nave  on  both  sides. 

1 io)  The  arcade  arch  of  the  east  bay  of  the  nave  is  nar- 
rower and  higher  than  those  of  the  western  bays. 

( 1 1 )  The  high  dado  separating  nave  and  side  aisles  in 
the  eastern  bay  is  discontinued  in  the  western  bays. 

(12)  The  abacus  string-course  of  the  eastern  bays  is 
brusquely  interrupted  at  the  point  of  junction,  and  a  new 
string-course  begun  a  metre  further  down. 

(13)  On  the  south  side  of  the  nave  the  design  of  the 
upper  string-course  is  changed  at  the  point  of  junction. 

(14)  The  capitals  of  the  side-aisle  responds  are  placed 
at  a  lower  level  in  the  eastern  bay  than  in  the  western  bays. 

(15)  Blind  arches,  decorating  the  side-aisle  wall,  non- 
existent in  the  eastern  bay,  are  introduced  into  the  western 
bays. 

It  seems  therefore  evident  that  it  is  a  grave  error  to  con- 
sider the  sculptures  of  St.  Amand  de  Boixe  as  dated  monu- 
ments of  1170.  They  are  indeed  dated,  but  they  belong  to 
the  church  consecrated  in  1125. 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          n 

There  is  consequently  no  reason  for  assigning  the  fagade 
of  Angouleme  to  the  second  half  of  the  XII  century.  The 
documents  inform  us  categorically  that  the  cathedral  was 
begun  by  the  bishop  Girard,  who  was  elected  in  noi ;  built 
by  him  (he  died  in  1136)  and  consecrated  in  1128.  There 
is  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  fagade  sculptures  were  exe- 
cuted between  noo  and  1128. 

The  erroneous  dating  to  1170  has  had  serious  conse- 
quences. Because  of  analogies  with  the  school  of  the  West, 
the  work  at  Rochester  has  been  dated  on  the  basis  of  the 
chronology  determined  at  Angouleme,  and  Rochester  has 
been  made  a  corner-stone  for  determining  the  chronology  of 
English  sculpture. 

Is  it  possible  to  determine  when  between  noi  and  1128 
the  sculptures  of  Angouleme  were  executed? 

We  know  that  in  general  Romanesque  sculptures  were 
executed  before  the  pose,  and  we  know  that  they  were  often 
prepared  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  works  that  they  might 
be  ready  when  the  masons  had  need  of  them.  Mediaeval 
buildings  were  constructed  sometimes  in  vertical,  sometimes 
in  horizontal  sections.  At  least  the  facade  of  Angouleme 
was  constructed  horizontally.  The  sculptures  are  of  three 
distinct  styles:  the  lunettes  are  the  oldest,  then  the  sculp- 
tures in  the  arches  above,  and  finally  those  of  the  topmost 
story.  If  we  compare  the  latter,  the  angel  of  St.  Matthew, 
for  example,  with  the  tympanum  of  St.  Michel  d  'En- 
traigues,  dated  1137,  we  shall  perceive  that  the  cathedral 
sculptures  are  distinctly  earlier.  The  faqade  of  Angouleme 
must  therefore  have  been  completed  by  1128  or  at  least 
very  shortly  after. 

Everything  would  therefore  indicate  the  lunette  sculp- 
tures were  executed  about  mo.  They  have  much  such 
movement  as  is  characteristic  of  the  tympanum  of  the  south 
portal  of  St.  Sernin.  Closer  analogies  are,  however,  to  be 
found  with  the  sculpture  of  Lombardy.  The  draperies  are 
those  characteristic  of  Guglielmo.  The  same  folds  with  the 
same  wave  pattern  at  the  bottom  are  found,  for  example,  in 


12  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

the  angel  of  the  Cremona  Expulsion,  a  work  executed  be- 
tween 1107  and  1117.  These  draperies  are  originally  de- 
rived from  manuscripts.  They  are  found  in  miniatures  of 
the  German  school  of  the  X  century1,  in  bibles  of  Angers,2 
and  Amiens3  of  the  same  period,  and  in  an  English  manu- 
script of  the  XII  century.4  It  is  not  entirely  clear  whether 
these  manuscript  draperies  were  first  translated  into  stone 
by  Guglielmo  and  copied  from  him  by  the  master  of 
Angouleme,  or  whether  the  reverse  was  the  case.  I  incline, 
however,  to  think  the  latter  and  to  suppose  that  Guglielmo, 
especially  in  his  later  works,  was  influenced  by  Angouleme. 
The  draperies  in  question  are  found  more  consistently  and 
persistently  at  Angouleme  than  at  Cremona;  at  Modena 
they  hardly  occur. 

The  conjecture  may  indeed  be  risked  that  Guglielmo  and 
the  master  of  Augouleme  came  into  personal  contact  with 
each  other.  At  any  rate,  it  is  certain  that  the  Angouleme 
work  was  strongly  influenced  by  Italian  models.  Like 
Guglielmo,  the  Angouleme  master  keeps  both  feet  of  his 
figures  firmly  planted  on  the  ground,  even  when  the  figures 
are  in  motion;  like  Guglielmo,  he  uses  two  parallel  lines  to 
indicate  the  modelling  of  his  draperies.  The  ornamental 
decoration  at  Angouleme  is  strongly  Lombardic.  The 
rinceau  beneath  the  lunette  might  have  been  sculptured  for 
a  church  of  the  Parmigiano  c.  mo;  the  interlaces  of  ani- 
mals and  foliage  over  the  lunettes  are  equally  north  Italian. 
Most  striking  of  all  is  the  frieze  to  the  right  of  the  central 
portal  beneath  the  lunette.  This  is  quite  unlike  anything  I 
know  in  France,  but  is  similar  to  the  Porta  della  Pescheria 
at  Modena  and  other  monuments  in  Italy,  such  as  the  relief 
walled  into  the  campanile  of  S.  Stef  ano  of  Pavia.  The  com- 
position of  two  knights  jousting  to  the  left  of  the  Angou- 

(*)  See  for  example  the  Perikopenbuch  Kaiser  Heinrich  II,  Reichenau 
school,  before  1014,  illustrated  by  Leidinger,  V,  18  or  the  Bamberger 
Apocalypse,  ed.  Woellflin. 

(2)  Bible   of    St.   Aubin   of   Angers,    Angers,   Hotel   de   Ville,   #4,  ed. 
Boinet,  Plate  CLII. 

(3)  Illustrated  by  Haseloff  in  Andre  Michel,  I,  2,  748. 

(4)  British  Museum  MS.  37472,  no.  1. 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          13 

leme  frieze  is  exactly  that  of  the  Pavia  relief,  and  was  in- 
deed a  stock  Italian  motive,  but  the  execution  and  other  de- 
tails recall  the  Modena  portal.  The  work  at  Modena  is, 
however,  much  better;  the  horses,  for  example,  are  more 
skillfully  drawn.  One  suspects  that  the  Angouleme  sculptor 
imitated,  a  bit  weakly,  this  original.  Now  the  Modena  por- 
tal belongs  to  the  early  years  of  the  XII  century.  Sufficient 
proof  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  its  close  relationship  to  the 
work  of  Guglielmo,  but  there  is  additional  confirmation,  if 
any  be  needed.  The  archivolt  was  imitated  in  the  Porta  dei 
Leoni  at  S.  Nicholo  of  Bari  and  this  church  was  consecrated 
in  1105. 

The  motive  of  two  knights  jousting  reappears  in  a  minia- 
ture of  a  nearly  contemporary  manuscript  of  St.  Albans, 
preserved  at  Hildesheim.1  Here  an  explanation  indicates 
the  symbolic  meaning  of  the  representation.  What  is  seen 
corporaliter  must  be  understood  spiritualiter;  these  warriors 
who  fight  should  recall  to  us  the  spiritual  combats  we  must 
wage  against  evil. 

The  crouching  attitude  of  the  lunette  figures  at  Angou- 
leme is  probably  derived  from  manuscripts.  We  find  paral- 
lel drawing  in  the  elders  of  the  Codex  Aureus  of  St.  Em- 
meran  of  Ratisbonne,2  a  manuscript  which  dates  from  870, 
and  in  the  sacramentary  of  Marmoutiers3  of  c.  850. 

The  master  of  Angouleme  shows  another  interesting  and 
surprising  relationship.  It  is  with  the  sculptor  who  executed 
at  St.  Gilles  the  apostle  with  crossed  legs,  the  second  to  the 
left  of  the  central  portal,  and  the  podium  reliefs  of  the  cen- 
tral doorway.  In  fact,  the  St.  Gilles  sculptures  are  charac- 
terized by  the  same  movement,  the  same  draperies,  the 
same  technical  peculiarities.  Yet  the  work  at  St.  Gilles  does 
not  seem  to  be  by  the  same  hand  as  the  work  at  Angouleme. 
At  St.  Gilles  style  is  notably  more  advanced  and  more 
exaggerated. 

C1)  Haseloff  in  Andre  Michel,  Historic  de  1'Art,  II,  i,  p.  311. 

(2)  Munich,  Kgl.  Bibl.  lat.  140000,  illustrated  by  Boinet,  Plate  CXVI. 

(3)  Preserved  at  Autun,  Bibl.  de  la  Ville,  #ipbis,  ed.  Boinet,  Plate 
XLIII. 


14  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

It  is  evident  that  the  St.  Gilles  sculptor  was  influenced  by 
a  manuscript  similar  to  that  from  which  the  Angouleme 
master  derived  his  style.  The  relief  of  Cain  and  Abel,  for 
example,  is  closely  analogous  to  several  German  miniatures 
of  the  X  century.1  The  resemblance  between  Angouleme 
and  St.  Gilles  is,  however,  much  closer  than  can  be  accounted 
for  by  a  common  manuscript  source.  If  we  compare  the 
apostle  to  the  right  of  the  lunette  to  the  right  of  the  portal 
at  Angouleme  with  the  Cain  in  the  St.  Gilles  Sacrifice,  we 
shall  be  convinced  that  the  St.  Gilles  artist  knew  the  work 
at  Angouleme. 

Archaeologists  have  much  repeated  that  this  master  of 
St.  Gilles  belonged  to  the  school  of  Languedoc,  and  this 
apparently  for  no  better  reason  than  that  the  legs  of  his 
apostle  are  crossed.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  insist,  after 
what  has  been  said,  that  he  comes  from  the  West,  and  that 
his  style  was  formed  at  Angouleme. 

I  have  no  desire  to  re-open  a  happily  closed  controversy, 
but  I  must  say  a  word  upon  the  dating  of  the  St.  Gilles 
facade,  lest  the  analogies  with  Angouleme  be  made  a  text  for 
re-establishing  the  late  chronology  for  the  school  of  the 
West.  Amid  all  the  confusion  produced  by  the  polemic, 
certain  facts  seem  to  me  clear : 

1 i )  The  cloister  of  St.  Trophime  at  Aries  was  begun 
in  1152. 

(2)  St.   Gilles  was  finished  before  the   cloister  of  St. 
Trophime  was  commenced. 

(3)  The  reconstruction  of  St.  Gilles  was  begun  in  1116. 
Therefore  the  facade  of  St.  Gilles  falls  between  1 1 16  and 

1152.     Is  it  possible  to  determine  more  accurately  the  date 
between  these  uncomfortably  broad  limits? 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  reconstruction  of  the 
church  was  begun  at  the  east  end.  I  seem  to  find  an  indi- 
cation that  such  was  indeed  the  case  at  St.  Gilles.  The 

O  See,  for  example,  St.  Gallen,  Stiftsbibliothek,  Cod.  902,  illustrated 
by  Merton,  Plate  IL  and  L,  no.  2;  Perikopenbuch  von  St.  Erentrud  of 
Munich,  Kgl.  Hof-  und  Statsbibliothek,  Clm.  15903,  c.p.  52,  illustrated 
by  Swarzenski,  #200. 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          15 

description  in  the  pilgrims'  guide,  written  probably  in  the 
H2o's  does  not  mention  the  church,  as  it  does  in  the  case 
of  nearly  all  the  other  important  centres  of  pilgrimage— 
Perigueux,  Saintes,  St.  Sernin  of  Toulouse,  Santiago.  The 
explanation,  doubtless,  is  that  at  that  period  there  was  not 
much  church  to  mention.  Otherwise  the  guide  would  surely 
have  praised  it,  for  the  desire  and  intention  to  "puff"  every- 
thing at  St.  Gilles  is  unmistakable.  It  is  not  inferring  too 
much  to  conclude  that  at  this  period  the  facade  had  not  yet 
been  constructed. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  choir  may  have  been  finished. 
The  style  of  the  existing  remains  accords  perfectly  with  the 
date  1116-1129.  Moreover,  the  guide  describes  at  length 
the  golden  altar;  this,  therefore,  was  already  in  place.  It  is 
probable,  that  as  at  Santiago,  the  altar  was  made  upon 
completion  of  the  new  choir. 

The  sculptures  of  the  facade  might  therefore  have  been 
begun  any  time  after  1130,  even  though  they  were  not  set 
up  until  much  later. 

The  earliest  in  style  of  the  sculptures  of  the  St.  Gilles 
facade  are  the  works  we  have  just  been  examining.  Indeed, 
as  wide  a  gulf  separates  them  from  the  work  of  Brunus  as 
separates  the  earlier  sculpture  of  Reims  or  Paris  from  the 
work  of  the  later  ateliers  in  which  it  is  incorporated.  I  sus- 
pect that  the  same  thing  happened  at  St.  Gilles;  the  master 
of  Angouleme  prepared  the  sculptures,  perhaps  c.  1130, 
which  were  subsequently  incorporated  in  the  later  work  of 
Brunus  and  his  school.  The  St.  Gilles  master  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  of  a  later  generation  than  the  master  of  Angou- 
leme; if  the  latter  worked  c.  1115,  the  former  might  have 
been  active  fifteen  or  even  twenty  years  later. 

The  existing  facade  of  St.  Gilles  can  hardly  be  earlier 
than  the  40*8.  This  becomes  clear  upon  a  comparison  with 
Lombard  monuments  from  which  it  is  derived.  For  it  is 
clear  that  the  source  of  this  art  lies  beyond  the  Alps.  The 
architectural  motive  is  a  glorification  of  the  Lombard  porch. 
This  is  especially  clear  at  Aries,  which  perhaps  preserves 


1 6  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

the  original  design  for  St.  Gilles.  The  columns  have  been 
multiplied;  this  is  the  only  essential  difference  between  this 
facade  and  Guglielmo's  porch  at  Modena  (in  its  original 
state) .  Yet  St.  Gilles  is  evidently  more  developed  and  later 
than  any  of  the  Lombard  work.  It  is  distinctly  more  ad- 
vanced than  Nicolo's  facade  at  Piacenza  (1132). 

A  comparison  of  the  other  features  of  St.  Gilles  bor- 
rowed from  Lombardy  leads  to  the  same  dating  in  the 
4o's.  The  jamb  figures  of  the  portal  are,  for  example,  de- 
rived from  Guglielmo's  work  at  Cremona  (1107-1117); 
the  figures  are  similarly  placed  in  the  inner  jambs;  the 
resemblance  of  type,  even  of  the  faces,  is  striking;  Brunus 
in  his  Peter  has  even  taken  over  the  accentuated  cords  of 
the  hands  so  characteristic  of  Guglielmo.  Yet  Brunus'  fig- 
ures with  their  conscious  and  elaborate  draperies,  their 
developed  style,  are  obviously  of  a  later  generation.  Twenty 
years  is  the  least  we  can  place  between  the  two.  Similarly 
the  lions,  monsters  and  caryatids  under  the  columns  and 
statues  of  St.  Gilles  are  evident  derivatives  from  Lombard 
prototypes,  but  more  elaborate  and  advanced  than  any  we 
find  in  the  work  of  either  Guglielmo  or  Nicolo.  They  can 
not  be  earlier  than  the  4o's.  Again  the  idea  of  a  frieze  is 
Lombard,  and  was  first  introduced  by  Guglielmo  at  Modena. 
Brunus  has  taken  it  over,  but  how  advanced  his  frieze  is, 
compared  with  that  of  the  Lombard!  The  idea  of  seeking 
inspiration  in  ancient  Roman  remains  may  also  very  prob- 
ably have  come  to  Brunus  from  Italy.  Guglielmo  had 
copied  antique  models  at  Modena,  and  the  rinceaux  at  St. 
Gilles  are  almost  precisely  like  those  of  the  Pisa  fagade. 
Here  again  one  feels  however  that  Brunus  carried  much 
farther  the  principles  of  his  predecessors. 

Another  chain  of  reasoning  leads  to  the  same  result. 
Brunus  worked  not  only  at  St.  Gilles.  We  recognize  with- 
out any  doubt  his  hand  also  at  Romans.  Now  Romans, 
we  know  from  documentary  sources,  was  begun  in  1133. 
Brunus  might  well  have  been  active  there  very  shortly 
afterwards.  At  Romans  there  worked  also  another  master 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          17 

from  the  North  who  executed  certain  capitals  in  the  church. 
Now  this  master  who  worked  upon  the  interior  capitals  of 
Romans  shows  close  stylistic  relationship  with  the  masters 
of  Montmorillon  and  La  Charite-sur-Loire.  His  activity 
would  consequently  fall  precisely  about  the  year  1140. 

All  these  considerations  lead  us  to  place  the  facade  of  St. 
Gilles  in  the  fifth  decade  of  the  XII  century. 

Returning  to  the  sculpture  of  Angouleme,  we  notice  that 
in  the  local  museum  is  preserved  a  relief  by  the  same  hand 
that  executed  the  lunette  sculptures  of  the  cathedral.  This, 
too,  seems  to  have  come  from  a  lunette.  I  am  tempted  to 
conjecture  that  it  may  have  formed  part  of  the  central  tym- 
panum, destroyed  in  the  XVIII  century,  and  now  replaced 
by  a  modern  pastiche.  The  museum  fragment  is  of  impor- 
tance because  unrestored.  It  therefore  affords  an  oppor- 
tunity for  obtaining  a  more  exact  conception  of  the  style 
and  quality  of  our  master. 

The  motive  of  placing  three  figures  crouched  or  in 
motion  in  a  tympanum  or  lunette  enjoyed  a  certain  popu- 
larity in  the  first  third  of  the  XII  century,  before  the  more 
elaborate  compositions  inaugurated  at  Cluny  came  into 
vogue.  This  is  the  type  of  the  tympanum  at  San  Pablo  del 
Campo  of  Barcelona,  a  church  consecrated  in  1125.  It 
appears  also  to  have  been  the  type  of  the  ancient  tym- 
panum of  Maguelonne,  of  which  the  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul 
are  preserved  in  the  portal  of  1178.  The  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul,  as  results  from  a  comparison  with  the  ambulatory 
sculptures  of  St.  Sernin,  must  date  from  c.  1120.  The 
draperies,  especially  their  lower  edges,  show  analogies  with 
Angouleme.  If  we  had  the  entire  tympanum,  we  might  per- 
haps feel  more  strongly  the  influence  of  the  Angouleme 
master. 

When  we  pass  from  the  sculptures  of  the  lunettes  at 
Angouleme  to  the  reliefs  of  the  upper  stories,  we  are  at 
once  conscious  of  a  change  of  style.  All  of  the  sculptures 
included  under  the  great  arcades  and  in  the  arches  flanking 
the  central  window  seem  to  form  an  homogeneous  group, 


1 8  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

which  is  distinguishable  from  the  lunettes.  Yet  the  two  are 
only  very  slightly  separated.  Whether  this  difference  is  to 
be  explained  by  supposing  that  the  upper  sculptures  are 
later,  or  the  work  of  a  different  master,  it  is  difficult  to 
determine  in  the  present  restored  condition  of  the  edifice. 
The  photographs  made  before  the  restoration  are  unfortu- 
nately not  sufficiently  clear  to  be  of  much  assistance.  As 
nearly  as  it  is  possible  to  judge  the  differences  of  manner 
are  sufficient  to  justify  the  inference  that  the  upper  sculp- 
tures are  both  later  and  by  another  hand. 

There  can  in  any  case  be  no  doubt  that  the  sculptures  of 
the  upper  story  are  by  a  different  master,  although  still 
closely  related.  The  figures  are  often  elongated;  the 
draperies  are  finer  and  more  clinging;  the  execution  finer. 
The  subject  of  this  remarkable  composition  is  not,  as  has 
been  said,  the  Last  Judgment.  The  angel  blowing  a  trumpet 
indicates  that  as  little  here  as  does  the  similar  figure  in  the 
Puerta  de  las  Platerias  at  Santiago  from  which  it  is  perhaps 
copied.  The  subject  is  the  apocalyptical  vision,  precisely 
as  in  the  sculptures  in  the  gable  of  the  cathedral  at  Modena. 
We  have  indeed  here  another  proof  of  the  relationship  be- 
tween Angouleme  and  the  Emelian  cathedral. 

The  master  of  the  upper  sculptures  remains  under  the 
influence  of  miniatures — at  least  I  take  it  that  the  busts  in 
medallions  are  derived  from  manuscripts  rather  than 
ivories,  although  it  is  impossible  to  be  certain  in  the  case  of 
a  motive  so  widely  diffused,  and  which,  as  we  have  already 
remarked,  is  found  in  Byzantine  stone  sculpture  of  the  X 
century.  It  is,  however,  reasonable  to  suppose  that  German 
miniatures  of  the  X  century  continued  to  be  the  source  of 
inspiration  for  the  Angoumois  sculptors. 

Especially  notable  are  the  angels  sculptured  on  the  vous- 
sure  of  the  central  arch  over  Christ.  The  motive,  charac- 
teristic of  the  school  of  the  West,  is  here  found  in  its  fully 
developed  form. 

Turning  now  to  the  sculptures  of  St.  Amand  de  Boixe, 
we  perceive  that  the  work  is  indeed  strikingly  analogous  to 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST  19 

Angouleme.  There  are  the  same  lunettes  with  three  figures, 
with  the  same  friezes  and  ornamental  patterns.  But  is 
current  archaeology  correct  in  calling  them  the  work  of  the 
same  master?  Notwithstanding  the  bad  preservation  of 
the  reliefs  of  St.  Amand,  and  the  restoration  at  Angouleme, 
I  have  little  hesitation  in  replying  in  the  negative.  St. 
Amand  is  the  work  of  an  inferior  copyist.  He  has  taken 
his  conception  from  Angouleme,  but  his  execution  is  entirely 
different.  His  lunette  figures  are  weak  and  timid  compared 
with  their  originals.  They  have  not  the  movement,  the 
vigor,  the  daring,  nor  the  decorative  quality  of  the  Angou- 
leme lunettes.  The  technical  details  are  different.  The  St. 
Amand  artist  introduces  a  beaded  ornament  in  his  halos 
and  on  the  robes  of  his  ecclesiastics,  which  is  not  found  at 
Angouleme.  His  draperies  are  of  another  type.  They 
seem  indeed  inspired  by  the  master  of  the  upper  row  of 
reliefs  at  Angouleme.  This  point  is  important.  Since  St. 
Amand  was  consecrated  in  1125,  we  are  confirmed  in  our 
dating  of  even  the  latest  work  of  the  Angouleme  fagade 
within  the  third  decade  of  the  XII  century. 

St.  Jouin  de  Marne  was  begun  in  1095;  in  1130  the 
church  was  consecrated.  The  western  bays  of  the  nave 
seem  to  be  the  latest  part  of  the  construction;  we  may  as- 
sume that  the  facade  dates  from  the  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding 1130.  The  style  of  the  sculptures  seems  in  fact  a 
little  more  advanced  than  that  of  the  latest  work  at 
Angouleme.  The  draperies  are  more  clinging,  less  schema- 
tized, more  naturalistic.  The  heads  of  the  St.  Peter  and  of 
the  apostle  above  him  are  finer  than  any  of  the  heads  at 
Angouleme.  In  the  upper  figure  to  the  left  of  the  window 
and  the  Delilah  appear  those  trailing  sleeves  which  were  to 
become  characteristic  of  the  school  of  the  West  in  the  fourth 
decade  of  the  century.  These  are  barely  foreshadowed  in 
the  angel  of  St.  Matthew  at  Angouleme.  The  heads  of  the 
two  apostles  below  the  Annunciation  have  already  a  Char- 
train  quality. 

St.  Jouin  de  Marne  was  a  pilgrimage  church.    Although 


20  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

apparently  not  directly  on  the  road,  the  rich  relics  it  con- 
tained must  have  induced  many  to  detour  on  their  way  to 
Santiago  or  Rome.  On  the  upper  gable  is  sculptured  a  pro- 
cession of  pilgrims — the  same  subject  that  was  later  re- 
peated in  the  pilgrimage  church  of  Borgo  S.  Donnino  in 
Lombardy.  The  fagade  of  St.  Jouin  de  Marne  shows  the 
characteristics  of  pilgrimage  art  in  the  many  foreign  influ- 
ences it  reflects.  The  strongest  of  these  is  that  of  Lom- 
bardy. The  division  into  three  parts  by  shafts;  the  ending 
of  these  shafts  inconsequentially;  the  setting-in  of  random 
bits  of  sculpture  in  high  relief;  the  arched  corbel-tables;  the 
grotesques  of  the  capitals;  the  cross  in  the  gable;  many  of 
the  anthemia  and  rinceaux,  all  are  evidently  inspired  by 
models  in  Italy,  and  more  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Pavia.  The  sculpture,  on  the  other  hand,  shows  rather 
French  and  Spanish  influences.  The  Visitation  recalls  the 
master  of  the  Creation  of  Adam  at  Santiago;  the  two 
statues  below  seen  to  be  reminiscent  of  the  Puerta  de  las 
Platerias,  of  Cluny  and  of  Charlieu;  the  Luxury  possibly 
recalls  Moissac. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  school  of  the  West  is  by 
no  means  so  exclusively  under  the  influence  of  Toulouse  as 
has  generally  been  assumed.  That  wind,  however,  did  un- 
questionably blow.  The  peculiar  stomach  folds  in  the 
draperies,  so  characteristic  of  later  work  in  the  West,  are 
found  in  the  cloister  of  Moissac.  This  particular  re- 
semblance, however,  may  possibly  be  due  to  derivation  from 
a  common  original.  Precisely  such  stomach  folds  are  found 
in  a  manuscript  life  of  Ste.  Radegonde,  illuminated  about 
1050  and  now  preserved  in  the  Bibliotheque  Municipale  of 
Poitiers1  and  also  in  Spanish  ivories. 

When  we  have  added  to  the  monuments  we  have  already 
examined  the  tympanum  of  St.  Michael  d'Entraigues  of 
1137,  and  Moreaux  and  Chadenac,  both  of  1140,  we  shall 
have  completed,  at  least  so  far  as  is  known  to  me,  the  list 
of  dated  sculpture  in  the  West.  It  is  meagre,  especially  in 

O  MS.  250  fol.  40,  illustrated  in  the  Bulletin  de  la  S.  F.  R.  M.  P.,  1914. 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          21 

view  of  the  large  number  of  undocumented  monuments  ex- 
tant; yet  by  rare  good  fortune  the  dates  are  distributed  over 
the  first  forty  years  of  the  XII  century  with  sufficient  fre- 
quency to  determine  the  development  of  the  style  in  this 
critical  period.  After  the  formation  of  the  Gothic  style  at 
St.  Denis  in  1140,  the  course  of  true  art  runs  smooth.  The 
documents,  therefore,  help  us  out  precisely  at  the  point 
where  we  have  most  need  of  them. 

Several  undated  monuments  are  still  of  importance  for 
comprehending  the  evolution  of  this  significant  school. 

Among  these,  one  of  the  best  known  is  certainly  Notre 
Dame  la  Grande  of  Poitiers.  Because  of  its  analogy  with 
Angouleme,  which  as  we  have  seen  has  been  much  post- 
dated, archaeologists  have  generally  considered  this  facade 
as  of  c.  1 1 80.  That  would  make  it  about  contemporary 
with  Senlis  and  the  Portico  de  la  Gloria  at  Santiago.  It  is 
only  necessary  to  compare  Notre  Dame  la  Grande  with 
these  two  monuments  to  be  convinced  of  the  extravagance  of 
the  theory. 

The  facade  of  Notre  Dame  la  Grande  is  certainly  more 
unified  than  that  of  Angouleme;  it  is,  however,  possible  to 
trace  in  the  sculptures  the  work  of  three  different  hands. 
To  the  first  belong  all  the  reliefs  to  the  left  of  the  central 
portal,  also  the  Joseph  and  the  wrestlers  to  the  right.  By 
the  second  are  the  Visitation  and  the  Nativity;  and  by  the 
third  the  apostles  above.  It  is  evident  that  the  first  two 
masters  worked  contemporaneously;  if  the  third  came  after 
them,  it  must  have  been  by  a  comparatively  short  interval 
of  time,  since  his  style  hardly  seems  essentially  more  ad- 
vanced. 

Comparison  with  Angouleme  gives  the  impression  that 
the  fagade  of  Notre  Dame  was  begun  later.  At  Poitiers 
the  design  is  more  coherent;  the  pointed  arches  introduced  in 
the  side  lunettes  have  no  counterpart  at  Angouleme.  The 
lunette  sculptures  of  Angouleme  are  obviously  more  primi- 
tive than  any  of  the  work  at  Notre  Dame  la  Grande.  But 
if  the  Pictave  facade  was  begun  later,  it  may  well  have  been 


22  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

finished  about  the  same  time.  In  fact  the  sculptures  seem 
contemporary  with  the  later  work  at  Angouleme  (1128) 
and  St.  Amand  de  Boixe  (1125).  We  may  therefore  assign 
Notre  Dame  la  Grande  to  c.  1130.  The  trailing  sleeves  of 
the  figure  to  the  right  of  the  Visitation  need  not  disquiet  us 
in  this  dating.  We  have  seen  that  such  sleeves  are  also 
found  at  St.  Jouin  de  Marne  which  was  completed  in  1130. 

I  can  detect  no  stylistic  points  of  contact  between  Notre 
Dame  la  Grande  and  St.  Denis.  But  it  appears  that  sculp- 
tor number  one  fell  under  the  influence  of  Lombardy,  and 
sculptor  number  two  possibly  under  that  of  Santiago.  This 
divergence  of  influences  need  not  surprise  us  in  a  pilgrimage 
church. 

The  relationship  of  the  first  master  to  Lombardy  indeed 
appears  to  be  more  striking  than  it  really  is.  The  inscrip- 
tions on  the  scrolls  of  the  prophets  are  the  same  as  those 
on  the  scrolls  of  the  prophets  of  Guglielmo  and  Nicolo. 
The  quotations  come  originally  from  a  pseudo-Augustine 
sermon,  from  which  Guglielmo  doubtless  took  them.  From 
this  sermon,  which  must  have  enjoyed  great  popularity, 
they  passed  into  a  miracle  play  of  the  prophets  composed  at 
Limoges  towards  the  end  of  the  XI  century,  and  from  the 
miracle  play  to  the  sculptures  of  Notre  Dame  la  Grande. 
The  presence  at  Poitiers  of  Nebuchadnezzar  proves  that  the 
inscriptions  of  Notre  Dame  are  taken  from  the  play  rather 
than  from  the  work  of  Guglielmo,  for  Guglielmo  does  not 
introduce  this  character.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the 
Isaiah  of  Moissac  also  appears  with  a  scroll  bearing  the 
same  text.  It  is  impossible  to  trace  any  direct  connection 
between  Moissac  and  Poitiers  or  Cremona. 

What  is  confusing  is  the  fact  that  the  sculptor  of  Poitiers 
shows  points  of  stylistic  contact  with  the  work  of  Guglielmo. 
One  has  only  to  compare  his  Joseph  with  the  Elijah  of 
Modena  to  be  convinced  of  the  fact.  The  Poitiers  Tempta- 
tion is  not  without  resemblances  to  Guglielmo's  rendering 
of  the  same  theme  at  Modena  and  Cremona.  Moreover, 
the  arched  corbel-tables  of  the  facade  and  much  of  the  dec- 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          23 

oration  are  strongly  reminiscent  of  Lombardic  models.  Our 
artist  seems  to  have  known  Souillac  also;  his  wrestlers  are  a 
weak  echo  of  those  on  the  sculptured  column,  and  recall  the 
similar  motive  sculptured  on  the  portal  of  the  cathedral  of 
Trani  in  Apulia. 

The  Visitation  of  the  second  sculptor  is  close  to  the 
Temptation  of  Christ  in  the  Puerta  de  las  Platerias.  The 
embroidered  borders  of  the  draperies  are  indicated  by  per- 
forations— the  earliest  completely  developed  example  I 
know  of  a  feature  later  so  popular,  and  which  is  only  fore- 
shadowed at  St.  Jouin  de  Marne. 

The  portal  at  La  Lande  de  Fronsac  is  crude  and  bar- 
barous. Perhaps  it  is  not  as  early  as  it  appears.  The 
sleeves  of  the  principal  figure  already  tend  to  trail,  a  char- 
acteristic which  we  have  seen  appear  at  Angouleme  only  in 
the  2o's.  However  our  doorway  can  hardly  be  as  late  as 
that;  we  are  here  far  to  the  south  where  this  detail  of  cos- 
tume may  have  come  into  use  somewhat  earlier.  The  orna- 
ment of  the  doorway  suggests  a  date  not  later  than  mo. 
Now  the  striking  features  of  La  Lande  de  Fronzac,  aside 
from  its  obviously  Lombardic  character,  are  the  proto- 
voussure  sculptures,  forming  an  evident  link  between  the 
Burgundian  type,  such  as  we  have  it  at  Calvenzano  and  the 
developed  motive  as  we  have  seen  it  at  Angouleme  in  1128. 
La  Lande  de  Fronzac  evidently  falls  at  an  early  stage  of 
this  evolution.  Moreover,  the  iconography,  taken  from  the 
first  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse,  is  unusual.  We  should 
hardly  find  this  particular  subject  after  the  stock  theme  of 
Christs  and  the  evangelists  had  been  elaborated.  I  am 
therefore  inclined  to  believe  that  this  portal  dates  from  the 
first  decade  of  the  XII  century. 

Ste.  Marie  des  Dames  of  Saintes  is  certainly  more  ad- 
vanced than  La  Lande  de  Fronzac.  Here  fully  developed 
voussure  figures  appear,  as  well  as  rows  of  figures  parallel 
to  the  radii  of  the  portal.  The  latter  seem  to  have  inspired 
many  monuments  of  Spain,  a  fact  which  is  easily  explained, 
since  Saintes  is  on  the  road.  In  the  luxuriant  barbarity  of 


24          THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

its  decoration  as  well  as  in  many  individual  motives,  this 
portal  is  closely  related  to  S.  Michele  of  Pavia.  Its  wild- 
ness  suggests  a  date  within  the  first  quarter  of  the  XII  cen- 
tury; it  will  be  recalled  that  at  Angouleme  refinement  and 
delicacy  had  begun  to  supplant  the  earlier  more  savage 
manner  before  1128.  The  voussures  of  Angouleme  are  dis- 
tinctly more  developed  than  these.  It  is  therefore  probable 
that  the  portal  of  Ste.  Marie  dates  from  1 120. 

The  church  of  Aulnay  is  situated  some  distance  from  the 
village  and  on  the  pilgrimage  route.  We  may  indeed  recog- 
nize in  the  architecture  and  sculpture  a  pilgrimage  char- 
acter, not  only  in  the  extraordinary  sumptuousness  of  the 
decoration,  but  also  in  the  foreign  influences.  Thus  we  may 
conjecture  that  the  elephants  sculptured  on  one  of  the  capi- 
tals were  inspired  by  the  tale  of  some  returning  pilgrim;  the 
arched  corbel-tables  and  much  of  the  ornament  is  Lombard; 
and  the  sculpture,  especially  of  the  fagade,  shows  Burgun- 
dian  influences. 

It  is  evident  that  the  portal  of  the  transept  is  earlier  than 
the  facade.  The  transept  doorway  is  indeed  the  nee  plus 
ultra  of  the  line  of  development  we  have  been  following 
out.  More  exquisite  drollery  than  that  of  the  outer  vous- 
sures has  rarely  been  attained.  Grotesque  art  can  go  no 
further. 

A  comparison  of  the  transept  portal  of  Aulnay  with  that 
of  Ste.  Marie  des  Dames  shows  how  greatly  superior  was 
the  Aulnay  sculptor.  He  has  suppressed  the  numerous  small 
members,  the  confusion  of  detail  which  make  the  work  of 
his  predecessor  restless  and  confusing.  He  has  made  his 
orders  all  rectangular,  his  voussure  sculptures  all  of  the 
radiating  type.  In  short,  there  is  in  his  work  a  sense  of 
order,  a  subordination  of  the  details  to  the  whole,  which 
is  characteristic  of  the  second  rather  than  the  first  quarter 
of  the  XII  century.  In  detail  his  figures  are  better  exe- 
cuted and  more  advanced  in  character  than  those  of  Saintes. 
Although  far  from  being  as  fine  as  the  later  work  at  Angou- 
leme, they  may  none  the  less  be  contemporary;  the  master 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          25 

of  Aulnay  was  essentially  a  decorator  rather  than  a  figure- 
carver.  His  portal  may  therefore  be  assigned  to  c.  1130. 

The  pointed  window  above,  with  the  superb  psycho- 
machia  on  the  voussure,  seems  to  be  contemporary. 

A  different  and  later  art,  on  the  other  hand,  appears  in 
the  western  facade.  Burgundian  influence  is  evident  in  the 
flat  folds  of  the  draperies,  in  the  elongated  proportions,  in 
the  sweeping  contours.  Calligraphic  line  is  indeed  here,  as 
frequently  in  the  Burgundy-izing  work  in  the  West,  carried 
to  a  sugary  extreme  which  the  wiser  artists  in  the  land  of 
its  origin  were  clever  enough  to  avoid.  In  Burgundy  I  know 
of  nothing  quite  so  obviously  graceful  as  the  foolish  virgins 
of  Aulnay.  The  spirit  of  this  work  has  evidently  much 
in  common  with  St.  Michel  d'Entraigues  (1137)  with 
which  it  must  be  about  contemporary. 

The  influence  from  Burgundy  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
features  of  Western  sculpture  in  the  second  quarter  of  the 
XII  century.  A  pure  and  beautiful  example  of  this  quasi- 
Burgundian  art  is  to  be  found  in  the  Cluniac  priory  of  Blazi- 
.mont.  There  are  details  of  this  portal  at  which  criticism 
must  cavil;  but  in  its  entirety  it  is  a  master-work.  Here, 
indeed,  is  the  perfection  of  manner.  Charm  of  line  and 
grace  of  contour  unite  with  delicacy  of  execution. 

The  derivation  of  this  art  from  Autun  (1132)  is  obvious. 
In  St.  Michel  d'Entraigues  we  perceive  the  same  tenden- 
cies. If  Blazimont  is  purer,  more  Burgundian,  that  may 
well  be  because  it  was  in  more  direct  relationship  with  the 
fountain-head.  The  architecture  is  more  advanced  than 
that  of  the  west  fagade  of  Aulnay.  We  must  be  about  the 
year  1140. 

A  confirmation  of  this  dating  may  be  derived  from  an 
English  manuscript  of  IU9-H46.1  The  angels  here  have 
the  same  elongated  and  crossed  legs  as  in  our  sculptures. 
The  two  works  must  be  nearly  contemporary;  but  one  has 
the  impression  that  in  this  case  the  miniature  is  not  the 

0)  Reproduced  by  Haseloff  in  Andre  Michel,  Historic  de  1'Art,  II,  1, 
p.  312. 


26  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

original  but  the  copy.  If  this  feeling  be  correct,  we  must 
place  Blazimont  well  before  1146. 

The  sculptures  of  Notre-Dame-de-la-Couldre  at  Parthe- 
nay  are  evidently  closely  related  to  those  of  Blazimont. 
There  are  the  same  draperies,  the  same  attenuated  crossed 
legs.  If  the  portal  of  Parthenay  still  in  situ  is  of 
inferior  quality,  the  six  reliefs  now  divided  between  the 
Louvre  and  the  collection  of  Mrs.  Gardner  in  Boston  are 
perhaps  the  finest  achievement  of  the  school  of  the  West. 
The  fact  that  these  fragments  have  been  subjected  to  a  de- 
plorable restoration,  which  leaves  us  in  uncertainty  as  to 
what  is  old  and  what  is  new,  does  not  affect  the  value  of  the 
undoubtedly  authentic  portions,  shown  in  the  drawings  of 
Sadoux.  Even  Burgundy  never  created  draperies  more  ad- 
mirable in  their  simplicity. 

The  movement  is  as  emphatically  stimulating  as  that  of 
the  Isaiah  of  Souillac,  but  they  are  simpler  and  nobler; 
their  line  for  all  its  sweetness  never  cloys.  Both  the  dra- 
peries and  the  hair-conventions  betray  the  imitation  of 
models  of  the  XI  century.  The  facial  types  are  analogous 
to  Chartres,  but  more  primitive ;  certainly  prototypes  rather 
than  derivatives.  Since  Chartres  is  believed  to  have  been 
begun  in  1145,  we  must  place  the  Parthenay  work  some- 
what earlier,  c.  1140.  This  would  make  it  contemporary 
with  Blazimont,  which  may  very  well  be. 

The  little  church  of  Chadennac  preserves  for  the  lover 
of  XII  century  art  an  unexpected  delight.  The  quality  of 
these  sculptures  is  even  finer  than  that  of  Chartres.  They 
lack,  it  is  true,  the  repose  and  monumental  grandeur  of  the 
work  at  Parthenay;  their  qualities  are  rather  delicacy  and 
finesse.  This  sculptor  was  the  Pisanello  of  Romanesque  art. 
Like  the  Italian  he  delights  in  the  world — the  pomp  of 
extravagant  costume,  the  beauty  of  lithe  and  graceful  limbs. 
Like  Pisanello,  too,  he  takes  particular  joy  in  animals.  In- 
deed, I  suspect  that  the  slender  hounds,  so  characteristic 
of  the  Veronese  artist's  work,  and  which  came  to  him  from 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          27 

French  miniatures,  may  be  the  lineal  descendants  of  the  no 
less  lovely  ones  sculptured  on  the  portal  of  Chadennac. 

The  date  of  this  important  monument — 1140 — is  hap- 
pily determined  by  an  inscription,  which  if  not  of  great  an- 
tiquity doubtless  still  preserves  an  authentic  tradition.  Sev- 
eral heads  are  absolutely  Chartrain  in  style,  as,  for  example, 
the  restored  male  portrait  in  the  cornice  over  the  central 
portal.  One  of  the  heads  in  the  voussures  is  very  close  to 
those  of  Gilalbertus  at  Toulouse.  The  angel  on  the  column 
is  the  sister  of  the  angels  in  the  inner  voussures  at  Blazi- 
mont.  This  firm  date  is  therefore  of  great  importance  in 
establishing  the  chronology  of  several  important  monu- 
ments. 

The  work  at  Foussais  is  interesting,  not  only  because  of 
its  own  intrinsic  qualities,  but  because  signed  by  a  certain 

RAVDVS  AVDEBERTVS  (=  Giraud  Aude- 

bert)  of  St.-Jean-d'Angely.  This  sculptor  seems  to  have 
been  called  in  to  supply  the  plastic  decoration  for  the  two 
lunettes,  representing  the  Magdalen  anointing  Christ's  feet, 
the  Noli  me  Tangere  and  the  Deposition.  The  central  por- 
tal with  radiating  voussures  is  by  a  coarser  hand. 
The  analogies  of  Giraud  Audebert's  work  with  Chartres 
are  striking.  The  aedicule  separating  the  two  reliefs  in 
the  south  lunette  is  precisely  similar  to  the  aedicules 
over  the  capitals  and  above  the  statues  at  Chartres.  The 
folds  of  the  tablecloth  and  of  the  draperies  below  it  are 
like  those  of  the  figures  in  the  central  tympanum  at  Char- 
tres, although  somewhat  coarser.  The  horizontal  decora- 
tion on  the  dresses,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  derived  from 
the  tympanum  of  Autun.  Something  in  the  disjointedness 
of  the  anatomy,  the  wattling  of  the  sleeves  and  certain  dra- 
peries seems  to  foreshadow  the  obviously  much  later  work 
at  La  Daurade  of  Toulouse. 

The  date  we  assign  to  these  sculptures  will  depend  upon 
whether  we  consider  them  prototypes  or  derivatives  of 
Chartres.  I  am  inclined  to  think  them  the  former.  It  is 
difficult  to  suppose  that  this  minor  artist  could  have  known 


28  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

the  work  at  Chartres,  and  picked  up  from  it  only  details. 
It  is  much  easier  to  believe  that  a  great  genius,  like  the  mas- 
ter of  Chartres,  should  have  taken  a  few  trivial  ideas  which 
served  his  purpose  from  Giraud  Audebert.  In  this  case  the 
Foussais  work  must  be  of  about  1140. 

There  is  much  evidence  that  the  head-master  of  Chartres 
was  formed  in  the  West.  Numerous  anticipations  of  his 
style  have  already  been  remarked.  Moreover,  the  mixture 
of  Burgundian  and  Spanish-Aquitanian  mannerisms,  so 
noticeable  in  his  style,  is  characteristic  of  the  sculpture  of 
this  region.  The  spirit  of  Chartres  is  already  alive  in  the 
portal  of  Blazimont. 

We  are,  therefore,  not  altogether  surprised  when  we  turn 
to  Montmorillon  to  find  sculptures  which  resemble  the 
work  at  Chartres  far  more  closely  than  any  we  have  here- 
tofore studied.  The  subject  treated  is  the  same  as  in 
the  right  lintel  of  Chartres.  Now  if  we  compare  these 
two  reliefs,  we  shall  note  the  most  extraordinary  similari- 
ties. The  scene  of  the  Nativity,  for  example,  is  represented 
in  both  in  the  same  peculiar  way;  the  Virgin  lies  in  bed; 
above  her  in  a  sort  of  shelf,  on  which  the  Christ  child,  the 
ox  and  the  ass  are,  or  were,  placed.  St.  Joseph  stands  in 
both  cases  at  the  head  of  this  arrangement;  his  garment 
falls  over  his  left  arm.  The  angel  of  the  Chartres  Annun- 
ciation reappears  in  the  angel  who  warns  the  shepherds  at 
Montmorillon;  even  the  feathers  of  his  wings  are  executed 
in  the  same  way.  Now  this  peculiar  arrangement  of  the 
wings  is  a  characteristic  motive  of  the  Western  school;  we 
find  it,  for  example,  in  the  tomb  of  St.  Hilaire  at  Poitiers. 
The  altar  on  which  the  Christ  child  is  presented  is  in  both 
reliefs  of  the  same  unprecedented  form;  in  both  he  stands 
upright  on  a  pedestal  like  a  little  pagan  god.  But  enough 
has  been  said  of  the  similarities,  which  no  one  will  doubt. 
The  differences  are  more  significant  for  our  purpose. 

We  notice,  therefore,  that  the  Montmorillon  sculptor  is 
fond  of  movement,  which  the  sculptor  of  Chartres  avoids. 
Compare,  for  example,  the  two  angels  annunciate.  That  at 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          29 

Montmorillon  rushes,  while  that  at  Chartres  hardly  moves. 
The  shepherds  at  Chartres  are  more  rigid  than  those  at 
Montmorillon,  the  virgin  in  bed  kicks  up  her  knees  and 
raises  her  elbows;  at  Chartres  she  lies  corpse-like.  The 
work  at  Chartres  is  more  monumental  and  architectural; 
that  at  Mortmorillon  more  lively  and  naturalistic.  The 
figures  at  Montmorillon  have  not  the  attenuated  propor- 
tions of  those  of  Chartres.  The  draperies,  moreover,  have 
not  the  same  character.  At  Montmorillon  the  folds  are 
broader  and  more  theatrical. 

In  all  these  peculiarities  Montmorillon  recalls  La  Charite- 
sur-Loire.  The  two  tympana  of  this  Cluniac  priory  show 
a  mixture  of  Burgundian  and  Western  elements.  They  are 
obviously  pre-Chartrain  and  must  date  from  not  later  than 
1140  La  Charite-sur-Loire  forms  a  logical  intermediate 
step  between  Montmorillon  and  Chartres. 

A  confirmation  of  the  origin  of  the  sculptor  of  Chartres 
in  the  West  is  afforded  by  the  arched  corbel-tables  which 
he  introduces  so  unexpectedly  in  the  right  hand  tympanum. 
The  arched  corbel-table  is  notoriously  a  Lombard  motive, 
and  nothing  could  be  more  surprising  than  to  find  it  here. 
Are  we  to  suppose  that  the  master  of  Chartres  had  studied 
Guglielmo's  frieze  at  Modena?  It  is  not  probable.  In 
fact,  we  have  seen  that  the  school  of  the  West  fell  strongly 
under  Lombard  influence,  and  among  the  motives  taken  over 
was  precisely  the  arched  corbel-table.  Now  the  arched 
corbel-tables  of  Chartres  are  not  of  purely  Lombardic,  but 
of  Western  type  (compare  the  portal  of  Montbron). 

It  seems  to  be  a  curious  fact  that  the  influence  of  Char- 
tres, which  spread  so  rapidly  over  the  Ile-de-France,  and 
reached  remote  regions  of  Spain,  never  deeply  affected  the 
art  of  the  West.  I  do  not  know  a  single  instance  of  jamb 
sculptures  of  the  XII  century  in  that  region,  nor  a  tympanum 
with  the  Apocalyptic  vision. 

It  is  true  that  at  first  glance  the  western  portal  of  Roch- 
ester in  England  seems  to  be  the  work  of  a  Western  sculp- 
tor, and  in  this  portal  we  find  both  these  features.  More 


30  THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST 

attentive  study  shows,  however,  that  we  have  here  the  work 
not  of  a  Western  artist,  but  of  an  eclectic  who  did,  indeed, 
fall  deeply  under  the  influence  of  the  West,  but  also  under 
that  of  Burgundy  and  the  Ile-de-France. 

When  the  influence  of  Chartres  does  appear  in  the  West, 
as  at  Civray,  the  style  was  already  in  full  decadence. 

The  history  of  the  school  of  the  West  may,  therefore,  be 
reduced  to  an  exceedingly  simple  outline.  It  appears  to 
have  originated  at  the  end  of  the  XI  century,  when  it  pro- 
duced rough  works,  far  superior  doubtless  to  anything  done 
at  this  time  in  the  Ile-de-France,  but  much  inferior  to  con- 
temporary work  in  Burgundy  or  Spain.  During  the  first 
third  of  the  XII  century  succeeded  a  period  of  vigorous  and 
interesting,  if  somewhat  barbaric,  development.  The  chief 
influence  is  Lombardic.  About  1130,  under  the  influence 
of  Burgundy,  the  style  began  to  undergo  a  swift  transforma- 
tion; attenuated  proportions,  graceful  lines,  elegant  compo- 
sition replaced  the  earlier  exuberance.  The  formal  ele- 
ments continued  to  gain  ground,  until  the  school  culminated, 
c.  1145,  in  the  master  of  Chartres.1 

O  Limits  of  time  make  it  impossible  to  study,  one  by  one,  the  numerous 
monuments  of  the  West.  It  may,  however,  be  not  without  interest  to  set 
down  the  probable  dates  of  certain  ones.  The  terminus  ante  quern  for  this 
group  of  Romanesque  monuments  is  the  year  1166,  when  the  cathedral  of 
Poitiers  was  begun.  This  monument  introduced  the  Plantagenet  Gothic 
style  into  the  region.  The  dating  of  the  sculptures  can  be  confirmed  by  a 
study  of  the  architecture.  This,  unfortunately,  has  never  been  systematically 
undertaken,  but  I  note  with  satisfaction  that  the  few  dates  assigned  by  the 
Congres  Archeologlique  (passim)  on  the  basis  of  the  architecture  in  general 
correspond  with  those  at  which  I  have  arrived  solely  through  the  study  of 
the  sculpture. 

Here  then  is  a  partial  list  of  monuments : 

c.  1100.  Villogen. 

c.  1100.  Poitiers,  St.-Hilaire,  sculptured  capitals.  (These  remarkable  pro- 
ductions, showing  the  influence  of  the  Velay,  may  really  be  considered  as 
documentated.) 

c.  1115.  St.-Symphorien,  portal;  upper  sculptures,  c.  1135. 

c.  1120.  Parthenay-le-Vieux. 

c.  1120.  Ste.-Croix  of  Bordeaux. 

c.  1125.  Chateauneuf-sur-Charente,  portal;  upper  sculptures  c.  1135. 

c.  1130.  Fontaine  d'Ozillac. 

c.  1130.  Castelvieil. 

c.  1130.  St.-Pompain  (signed  by  Guillaume— 'GILGLELM'— the  Humil- 
ity and  Pride  of  the  psychomachia  designated  by  an  inscription). 

c.  1135.  Varaize. 

c.  1135.  Melle,  St.-Hilaire. 

c.  1135.  Corme  Royal. 


THE  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  WEST          31 

c.  1140.  Ruffec. 
c.  1140.  Perignac. 
c.  1140.  Pont-1'Abbe-d'Arnoult. 
c.  1140.  Fenioux. 
c.  1140.  Melle,  St.-Pierre. 
c.  1140.  Thouars,  St.-Medard   (restored). 
c.  1140.  Trois-Palies. 
c.  1145.  Chalais. 
c.  1145.  Aubeterre. 
c.  1150.  Surgeres. 
c.  1150.  Cognac. 

c.  1150.  Poitiers,  St.-Hilaire-de-la-Celle,  tombeau  de  St.  Hilaire. 
c.  1150.  La  Villedieu. 
c.  1150.  St.-Saturnin. 
c.  1160.  Gensac-la-Pallue. 
c.  1165.  Civray. 
c.  1170.  Vouvant. 

c.  1175?  Poitiers,  Musee  des  Antiquaires  de  1'Ouest,  sculptures  from  St. 
Benoit. 


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